Preaching the Cross

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     First Corinthians 1:17-18 says, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.  For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” 

     Here at the assisted living facility, everyone has some little item hanging on their door.  They make the rooms a little more different. Some have little sayings, wreaths of various types, pictures and such.  I chose to get a cross and to hang it on our door.  About a week ago, it was missing and I found it down the hall on another person’s door.  Then, yesterday, it was missing again and Diane found it on the floor across the hall.  It jus didn’t fall off the door, it was deliberately taken off the door and thrown on the floor.  That one disturbed me a little but it is the thought of the world system.  A lot of people take offense at the cross as they don’t understand its importance.     

     From the passage above, we see Paul’s mission in life.  He was to peach the gospel as we have it defined in First Corinthians 15:3-4.  It was not to be done with a lot of fancy words so that people didn’t understand but to tell it as it was, plain and simple.  To the atheist or the unbeliever, the preaching of the cross is foolishness but to the believer itg is the very power of God.  Why?  Because on the cross at calvary, The Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins.  Prophecies were fulfilled, the sacrificial system of the Jews came to a culmination.  There are three factors in the gospel, the death, the burial and the resurrection.  All three are necessary.  If Christ did not die, then the resurrection was false, but He did die and when He was buried, He was dead.  The thrusting of the spear in His side proved that point.  They did not have to break His legs as they did with the two thieves, as Christ was already dead.  When he uttered those words, “It is Finished” the payment was done. Every sin was paid for, past, present and future.  For Christ, time stood still as every sin was under the blood of Christ.  The world system, however, still pursues after the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life.  That is all they live for, to eat, drink and be merry.  They do not know about the fact that judgment is coming and they laugh and scorn the message of the cross.  We have mentioned recently about immortality that awaits the believer in Christ.  That is the power of God as a result of the resurrection that took place after the death and burial.  We can faithfully praise God today for His power in the resurrection and we will keep on preaching the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.